When you get it wrong

Every newsroom makes mistakes. What readers judge is what happens next.

## Correct quickly and openly
When an error is pointed out, check it at once. If the report was wrong, correct it and say so at the end of the story: what was wrong, what is right and when it was changed. Do not quietly change a story so that nobody can tell it was ever wrong — that is called a "stealth edit", and it damages trust more than the error did.

## Different kinds of fixes
- Correction — a fact was wrong (a name, a number, a date). Fix it and add a correction note.
- Clarification — the facts were right but the wording could mislead. Reword and add a note.
- Update — new facts have come in. Add them and mark the story as updated.
- Withdrawal — rarely, a story is so wrong it cannot stand. Replace it with a note saying why it was withdrawn.

## Learn from it
Ask how the error got through: a source not checked, a number copied wrongly, a headline that went further than the story. Fix the step, not just the sentence. Rational Times lists its corrections publicly on its Corrections page.